Getting Into Hawaii Just Got a Little Easier—as Long as You’re Vaccinated

Planning travel to Hawaii? If you’re fully vaccinated and got your jabs somewhere in the U.S., then you’re good to go. The Aloha State has officially expanded their Vaccine Exception Program— which dropped the islands’ pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirements for anyone vaccinated in Hawaii—also to include fully-vaccinated travelers who received their shots elsewhere in the United States.

This means that travelers who have been jabbed on the mainland or in any U.S. territory bypass the state’s mandatory 10-day self-quarantine without having to get and show proof of a negative pre-travel NAAT COVID-19 test. (Not vaccinated? Sorry not sorry, but you’ll still be required to get a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) via one of Hawaii’s trusted testing and travel partners at least 72 hours before the final leg of your trip to the islands.)

However, this new policy update doesn’t mean you can just sit back and start relaxing once you book your ticket to paradise. All travelers to all Hawaiian islands will still have to jump through a few hoops to earn their days in the sun.

To qualify for skipping quarantine, the new vaccine-exempt travelers will have to wait until they are considered fully vaccinated before entering Hawaii—at least 15 days after their final required dose of whichever vaccine they received.

Travelers will also need to sign up and create an account through Hawaii’s Safe Travels program portal. They’ll need to enter personal identification information, add any minors traveling with them, fill in travel details about their trip, and upload documents for proof of vaccination. There’s also a health questionnaire that needs to be filled out within 24 hours of arrival. (This portal is also where any unvaccinated travelers who wish to test out of the 10-day quarantine can upload proof of their negative NAAT COVID-19 test.)

Once all the information is completed, travelers will receive a handy dandy QR code that will help expedite their entry into Hawaii—and act as your golden ticket while on the islands. Travelers can use this code to show hotels, transportation, and others that they are exempt from the quarantine. The portal also stores your vaccination status and keeps it on file for any future trips to Hawaii.

And FYI, once Hawaii reaches a 70 percent vaccination rate throughout the state, it plans to lift all travel restrictions. Currently, the state has a 58.1 percent vaccination rate.